(Zaman Al Wasl)- Clashes erupted Monday between the Lebanese Hezbollah militia and Syrian rebels in southern Quneitra province, local activists said.
Hezbollah militants have intensified their assault in the southwest region despite a clear warning by the US to take firm and appropriate measures in response to violations in a designated de-escalation zone in Daraa and Quneitra.
Activists have reported casualties from Hezbollah in the clashes which took place in the village of Um Batneh south of Quneitra city.
After seven years of conflict, the southwest of Syria, bordering Jordan and the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, is one of the parts of the country still outside the regime's control.
Hezbollah's artillery fire killing 5 civilians on Friday in Daraa during Eid al-Fitr, an important religious holiday celebrated by Muslims worldwide that marks the end of Ramadan.
Bashar Assad's forces have recovered swathes of territory from rebels with the help of Russian air power and Iran-backed militias, and he has repeatedly pledged to take back "every inch, according to Reuters"
Assad said on Wednesday his regime was still pursuing a political solution for Syria's rebel-held southwest, but would use military force if the effort failed.
Since last year, a "de-escalation" deal brokered by Jordan, Russia and the United States has contained fighting in the southwest.
The state department said any Syrian government military actions against that zone risked broadening the conflict.
"We affirm again that the United States will take firm and appropriate measures in response to Syrian government violations in this area," it said in a statement on Thursday.
An underpinning ceasefire arrangement and the de-escalation deal are intended to save lives and create conditions for the displaced to return home safely, it added.
Zaman Al Wasl
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